Brunetti: a new slice of history begins

After almost two years of building, the new Brunetti cafe and pizzeria in Carlton opens tomorrow. It's coming back to its original location at 380 Lygon Street, where it first opened in 1974. The business moved around the corner on to Faraday Street in 1984. A growth spurt sees it take over what was formerly Borders bookstore, filling a huge 2000 square metres with 400 seats, and planning to open from 4am to midnight daily. ''We want to give our customers more space and choice,'' says co-owner Yuri Angele, who runs the business with his brother Fabio. Yuri and Fabio's architect brother, Joe, designed the interior with its wood-fired oven pizzeria, a cafe, a gelataria and a coffee station with three machines on-the-go. Asked if Carlton needs another pizza place, Yuri says, ''It's what we're doing that's different, there are 40 different types of pizza with everything made on site.'' Stating there is a strong element of theatre to the new (licensed) Brunetti, the design includes glass walls to enable customers to watch the production of their famous cakes and pastries.

Hilary McNevin